1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to surgical devices for facilitating sealed access across a body wall and into a body cavity and, more particularly, to a surgical access apparatus adaptable to permit the sealed insertion of either the surgeon's hand and/or surgical instruments during laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Minimally invasive surgical procedures including both endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures permit surgery to be performed on organs, tissues and vessels far removed from an opening within the tissue. Laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures generally require that any instrumentation inserted into the body be sealed, i.e. provisions must be made to ensure that gases do not enter or exit the body through the incision as, e.g., in surgical procedures in which the surgical region is insufflated. These procedures typically employ surgical instruments which are introduced into the body through a cannula. The cannula has a seal assembly associated therewith. The seal assembly provides a substantially fluid tight seal about the instrument to preserve the integrity of the established pneumoperitoneum.
Minimally invasive procedures have several advantages over traditional open surgery, including less patient trauma, reduced recovery time, reduced potential for infection, etc . . . However, despite its recent success and overall acceptance as a preferred surgical technique, minimally invasive surgery, such as laparoscopy, has several disadvantages. In particular, surgery of this type requires a great deal of surgeon skill in order for the surgeon to manipulate the long narrow endoscopic instruments about a remote site under endoscopic visualization. In addition, in laparoscopic surgery involving the intestinal tract, it is often preferable to manipulate large sections of the intestines to perform the desired procedure. These manipulations are not practical with current laparoscopic tools and procedures accessing the abdominal cavity through a trocar or cannula.
To address these concerns, recent efforts have focused on hand-assisted laparoscopic techniques and procedures. These procedures incorporate both laparoscopic and conventional surgical methodologies. The hand assisted technique is performed in conjunction with a hand access seal which is an enlarged device positionable within the incision in, e.g., the insufflated abdominal cavity. The device includes a seal for forming a seal about the surgeon's arm upon insertion while permitting surgical manipulation of the arm within the cavity. However, known hand access seals are quite cumbersome and incorporate elaborate sealing mechanisms. Moreover, these hand access seals are incapable of conversion for use with laparoscopic instruments.